Vitality, Aurora seal IEM Masters Krakow playoff bids

Team Vitality and Aurora Gaming swept to wins on Monday, clinching playoff berths and setting up a showdown in the Group B upper-bracket final of the Intel Extreme Masters Krakow tournament in Poland.

Vitality trounced 3DMAX 2-0, and Aurora dumped MOUZ 2-0.

Group B lower-bracket play also got underway on Monday, with FaZe Clan edging BC.Game Esports 2-1 and Team Falcons nipping NRG 2-1.

In the Group A lower-bracket semifinals, FURIA fought past Natus Vincere 2-1, and Astralis came from behind to defeat FUT Esports 2-1.

The $1 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament started with 24 teams and is currently in a 16-team double-elimination group stage involving best-of-three matches. The group winners earn spots in the playoff semifinals, the group runners-up head to the playoff quarterfinals as high seeds and the third-place teams go to the playoff quarterfinals as low seeds.

The playoffs will consist of a single-elimination bracket of best-of-three matches until the grand final on Sunday, which will be best-of-five. The championship team will receive $400,000, and the runner-up will get $180,000.

On Monday, Team Vitality powered past 3DMAX 13-6 on Inferno and 13-6 on Dust II. France's Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut registered 37 kills and a plus-18 kill-death differential for Vitality. Filip "Graviti" Brankovic paced all-French 3DMAX with 25 kills and a minus-3 K-D differential.

Aurora Gaming downed MOUZ 13-7 on Dust II and 13-9 on Inferno. Engin "MAJ3R" Kupeli produced 34 kills and a plus-8 K-D differential for all-Turkish Aurora Gaming. Hungary's Adam "torzsi" Torzsas finished with 31 kills and a plus-5 K-D differential for MOUZ.

FaZe Clan opened with a 13-8 win on Dust II before BC.Game Esports captured Nuke 13-6. On the decisive third map, Ancient, FaZe Clan prevailed 13-3. Latvia's Helvijs "broky" Saukants logged 50 kills and a plus-21 K-D differential for FaZe Clan. Ukraine's Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev ended up with 48 kills and a plus-7 K-D differential for BC.Game Esports.

FURIA took Mirage 13-7 ahead of Natus Vincere claiming Inferno 13-9. FURIA sealed the series with a 13-6 triumph on Dust II. Latvia's Mareks "YEKINDAR" Galinskis led FURIA with 51 kills and a plus-13 K-D differential. Kosovo's Drin "makazze" Shaqiri totaled 41 kills and a plus-3 K-D differential for Natus Vincere.

After FUT Esports took Mirage 13-7, Astralis rallied to win 13-11 on Overpass, 13-2 on Nuke. Sweden's Love "phzy" Smidebrant amassed 48 kills and a plus-13 K-D differential for Astralis. Lithuania's Dziugas "dziugss" Steponavicius ended up with 43 kills and a plus-2 K-D differential.

The tournament continues Tuesday with six matches:

--Group A upper-bracket final: G2 Esports vs. Team Spirit

--Group A lower-bracket final: FURIA vs. Astralis

--Group B upper-bracket final: Team Vitality vs. Aurora Gaming

--Group B lower-bracket semifinal: MOUZ vs. FaZe Clan

--Group B lower-bracket semifinal: 3DMAX vs. Team Falcons

--Group B lower-bracket final: MOUZ/FaZe Clan winner vs. 3DMAX/Team Falcons winner

Intel Extreme Masters Krakow prize pool

1. $400,000

2. $180,000

3. $100,000

4. $60,000

5-6. $40,000

7-8. $24,000

9-12. $16,000 -- Natus Vincere, FUT Esports, two teams TBD

13-16. $10,000 -- The MongolZ, PARIVISION, BC.Game Esports, NRG

17-20. $4,500 -- GamerLegion, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Liquid, paiN Gaming

21-24. $2,500 -- Passion UA, Legacy, B8, HEROIC

--Field Level Media